- Canada named its 22-player roster Friday for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton
- Landon DuPont is the lone returning player from last summer’s bronze-medal team
- Read below for the full roster breakdown and Canada’s tournament schedule
Canada has its 22 for Edmonton.
Hockey Canada named its National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team on Friday for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and the headliner is exactly who you’d expect. Landon DuPont, the Everett Silvertips defenceman sitting atop nearly every early board for the 2027 NHL Draft, made the cut.
DuPont is the only player here who suited up at last year’s tournament, where Canada settled for bronze. He is also the first defenceman ever granted exceptional-player status in the WHL, and he has more than justified it. His 18 goals and 73 points in 63 games last season led every CHL player in his age group, and he helped Everett win the first WHL championship in franchise history before the Silvertips lost the Memorial Cup final.
Gavin McKenna went first overall in June. DuPont is the name most scouts have penciled in for next June, and he heads to Michigan this fall before that draft year begins.
Nine WHL players made the roster, along with eight from the OHL and five from the QMJHL:
Program of Excellence general manager Alan Millar spoke about the group in the release, after camp wrapped with a pre-tournament win over Sweden.
“This is a highly skilled group of young players that is motivated to accomplish our goal of winning a gold medal, and we know our players are excited to wear the Maple Leaf and play in front of Canadian fans.”
Chase Surkan scored the winner in that Sweden tune-up:
The pedigree on this roster runs deep. Nineteen of the 22 were first-round picks in their CHL league drafts, 16 of them inside the top 10. DuPont, Maddox Schultz and Alexis Joseph all went first overall. Sixteen players are eligible for the 2027 draft, with six more sitting a year behind that.
Canada opens against Switzerland at 5 p.m. MT on Aug. 3 at Rogers Place, then draws Slovakia on Aug. 4 and Sweden on Aug. 5 to close the preliminary round. Semifinals go Aug. 7 and the medal games are set for Aug. 8.
The Canadians have won this event a record 25 times, most recently in Edmonton in 2024. The United States took gold last summer and sits in Group B alongside Czechia, Finland and Germany.
